Money laundering and
international crime go hand in hand.
The art of turning dirty money into legitimate funds takes a
lot more than a numbered Swiss bank account, so popular in movies of
the past. To stay in
business, international con artists count on shortcomings in both
international laws and law enforcement cooperation. Money laundering takes three steps: Placement -- get the dirty money into a financial
institution; Integration -- commingle other money to confuse its
origin; and Reintroduction -- get the funds back into the economy.
To
further ensure his success, the con man and his associates will also
establish an endless series of shell companies, financial
institutions and documents to make tracing the original source that
much more difficult.
In
addition to money laundering, many other forms of white-collar crime
have come to the global village. Telemarketing schemes, insurance scams and electronic
banking, check and computer frauds have all been found throughout
Europe, the Caribbean, Canada and the Far East.
To confront these crimes, the U.S. and the United Kingdom
have formed the White-Collar Crime Investigative Team or WCCIT.
Comprised of FBI agents and British police officers, the
WCCIT team is based in the FBI's Miami office and deals with
Caribbean fraud and money laundering activities.
This international task force is seen as the start of a new
era of cooperation among world nations in the fight against fraud
and money laundering.